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Stranger Than Fiction

Plot
An IRS auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death.

Release Year: 2006

Rating: 7.7/10 (102,296 voted)

Critic's Score: 67/100

Director:
Marc Forster

Stars: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman

Storyline Everybody knows that your life is a story. But what if a story was your life? Harold Crick is your average IRS agent: monotonous, boring, and repetitive. But one day this all changes when Harold begins to hear an author inside his head narrating his life. The narrator it is extraordinarily accurate, and Harold recognizes the voice as an esteemed author he saw on TV. But when the narration reveals that he is going to die, Harold must find the author of the story, and ultimately his life, to convince her to change the ending of the story before it is too late.

Trivia:
Harold's two co-workers, played by T.J. Jagodowski and Peter Grosz, appear together in a series of commercials for Sonic Drive-In.

Goofs:
Continuity:
A little before the time that Harold and Professor Hilbert are talking about pancakes, you can see the same man (with a dark denim jacket) walk by in the same direction twice. Then during the pancake scene, you can see a woman with a zip up brown sweatshirt walk towards them and pass them, twice.

Helm's great screenplay and Ferrell's astonishing acting make for an excellent film

Rating: 9/10

I liked the idea of Stranger than Fiction from the start. And I still
like the idea after having seen the film. I was not a big fan of all
the huge press first-time screenwriter Zach Helm was getting, but in
comparison to the ballooning publicity with Sascha Baron Cohen and
Borat!, it was not too bad. I continually looked forward to seeing the
film, and am glad that the great trailer did not reveal everything like
I had originally assumed.

The film involves Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), an IRS agent who lives
his life by a very strict routine. One day, he wakes up, and begins to
hear a woman narrating all of his actions. Suspicious, Crick continues
attempting to live his life out, but after an inexplicable comment in
regards to his "immenent death", he goes on the hunt for the voice.
Randomly spliced into Crick's search is Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson).
She is writing a novel about a character named Harold Crick, and is
unknowingly the voice Crick keeps hearing. She is battling a case of
writer's block, and spends much of the film attempting to come up with
the finale for the character.

Unlike many other existential comedies, Fiction is sweet and almost
innocent in its design. Yes, the main focus of the film is pretty grim,
but the life-altering questions that keep going around during the film
do not become anywhere near as depressing and bizarre as those found in
the likes of the work of Charlie Kaufman. In a way, Fiction feels a lot
like a Kaufman-written film, but lacking in the means of being totally
"out there"; almost like being a decaf as opposed to a regular. As a
result, while being an excellent film (albeit slightly predictable), it
cannot break past the mold already set by the likes of the absolutely
brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It just feels like it
is missing that spark that could have sprung it right into the
brilliance that all films like this strive for.

Going along with the story itself, it feels a little ill-paced in some
few instances, but for the most part sucks you right in and keeps you
there. It has many comedic elements, and has some great dramatic
sequences as well. They all play well, and while I still would not give
him a ton of credit, I was very impressed by Helm's first-time effort.
His writing feels vibrant and fresh, and in a film industry with
absolutely little originality or thought, it is just great that movies
like this slip through and get green-lighted. Every piece of dialogue
and background feels well expressed, and just play out astonishingly
well. On the topic of Crick however, I liked the idea of how neurotic
and obsessive Crick was over numbers, but I thought it was a bit of an
overkill to include special effect shots showing the numbers being
counted within his head. It felt silly in The Da Vinci Code, so why did
Sony feel the need to add it here too?

On that note, much like my being impressed by Adam Sandler from time to
time, Ferrell really pulls through here, and does give the best
performance of his short career. The psychological trauma that his
character goes through is evident in his facial and body emotions, and
the way he conveys it on screen is nowhere near what I would have
expected. He brings an amazing sense of what this character is really
about, and gives him a poignancy that makes him so life-like that it
becomes almost too great to explain. This is a pathetically sad man who
you cannot help but pull for as the film goes on. And for all the right
reason too. He may deliver some of the funniest lines in the movie, but
he is totally mature and at ease in this role. Thankfully this means
that he stays serious for the most part throughout the film, and does
not let any Ricky Bobby or Ron Bergundy slip out. He could have easily
blown it, but thankfully, manages to stay in check.

Thompson is another particular standout, especially in contrast to
Ferrell. She is broken and weak, searching for the perfect ending. The
pain and sorrow that goes through her face as she writes and thinks has
a poetic excellence to it, and she only continues to prove how good of
an actor she is. Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifah work well in
supporting roles, supporting Ferrell and Thompson respectively as the
film progresses on. Hoffman has always had great comedic timing, and he
does not let it go to waste here. He plays right off of Ferrell in
grand ways, and just feels totally at home in the role. Latifah, while
not in the film so much, is very good in her bit parts. Maggie
Gyllenhaal also shines here, and clearly has the makings for an Oscar
sometime in the late future.

For its small problems, Fiction still is able to prove its worth, and
is clearly one of the best films of the year. It will be able to stand
proud among the other entries in the existential comedy genre, or just
stand proud on its own. Helm's screenplay coupled in with an
intoxicatingly great performance by Ferrell make for a great trip to
the movies. And sure beats some of the crap that's been released over
the past few weeks.